Amen.
All right, well, we're there in Hosea, chapter number 14, and like we've announced this morning,
we are concluding our series on revival, and we've been looking over the last eight weeks
at the subject of revival.
We've been looking at the great passages in the Bible about revival, and we've been looking
at the great revivals in the Bible, and tonight, or this morning, excuse me, we're gonna finish
up.
If you remember, when we started this series, we started by defining revival.
It talks about the fact that revival is when we know God and when we make God known, and
you will experience revival in your life, and this church will experience revival when
we corporately know God and endeavor to make God known, and then we've been talking about
how do we do that.
We talk about revival through dying to self and revival through the house of God, revival
through the word of God, revival through prayer.
We talked about revival through soul winning, and this morning, I wanna end this sermon
with a sermon on just steps for revival, and here in Hosea, chapter 14, you'll find that
the prophet gives us these steps for revival, and I would encourage you to write these down
as we walk through this chapter this morning, and on the back of your course of the week,
there's a place for you to write some things down.
I want you to understand that these steps for revival really build on each other.
They're like a domino effect.
As you begin one, one will topple the other, and it will lead towards revival, but you
cannot remove any one of these.
You need to have all of these in order to have revival.
I wanna give you these eight steps.
We'll do it as quickly as we can this morning.
You're there in Hosea 14.
Notice verse number one.
Notice what Hosea says.
He says, O Israel, I want you to notice this word.
He says, Return.
He says, Return unto the Lord thy God.
This is really where revival begins, and in fact, if you're taking notes, I would ask
you to write this down.
Number one, or step number one, is this.
For revival, first we begin with repentance.
If we are going to experience revival, if you're going to experience revival in your
life, you're going to have to experience repentance, and again, I'm not preaching to unbelievers
this morning, Lord willing.
I'm preaching to people that are saved, and you understand that, and I realize from time
to time we might have unsaved people in church, but I'm preaching to a church of believers,
and when we talk about repentance here, we're talking about turning back to the Lord.
That's what we mean when we talk about getting right with the Lord, and this is what Hosea
is saying to the nation of Israel.
He says, O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God.
Now, why do they need to return?
Here's why.
For thou has fallen by thine iniquity.
See, they had had spiritual failure.
They had fallen by their iniquity.
They had fallen out of the way.
They had fallen out of the walk and step that they had with God, and here, Hosea is pleading
with them that they would repent and that they would return.
Notice verse number two.
He says, take with you words, notice what he says.
He says, and turn to the Lord.
Say unto him, take away all iniquity and receive us graciously.
So will we render the calf of our lips.
Now, keep your place there in Hosea chapter number 14, and that's our text for this morning,
but I'd like you to go with me, if you would, to the book of 1st...
Actually, you know what?
I'm sorry.
Before you do that, look at Hosea chapter five, and I want you to see this.
In Hosea chapter 14, we have the prophet here speaking to this nation, and he's ending
the book of Hosea with this call to repent and to be revived.
But he's been dealing with the nation over this book, and I've preached through the book
of Hosea, and I'm not going to go through the entire book today, but I want you to notice
verse number 15 of Hosea chapter five.
Notice what he says.
He says, I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offense and seek
my face.
Notice he says, in their affliction, they will seek me early.
This is Hosea speaking as a mouthpiece of God, and this is the message that God is bringing
to the nation of Israel.
He says, I will go and return to my place till they, he's talking to the people of God,
he says, till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face in their, notice this word,
affliction, they will seek me early.
I want you to understand that the Bible teaches this concept, keep your place here in Hosea.
Go with me if you would to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter five, the New Testament book of 1
Corinthians chapter five.
You have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians.
When you get to 1 Corinthians, do me a favor and put a ribbon there or a bookmark because
we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it.
And we're going to come back to it throughout the service.
So make sure you just keep your place there in 1 Corinthians chapter five.
And here's what I want you to understand.
Often God will bring a believer, God will bring chastisement, God will bring affliction,
God will bring his punishment upon a believer.
You say, why?
The purpose is this.
Sometimes we think, oh, God will punish me because of my sins.
And it is as a result of your sin and sin often has a result of punishment.
The Bible says we reap what we sow and we understand all that.
But theologically speaking, you need to understand this.
God never punishes you for your sin.
If you're saved, your sins have been forgiven.
As far as the ethos from the West, the Bible says, they will not come into his mind.
He will not remember them.
You say, well, why is it then that God will chastise us as believers?
There's always one purpose for the punishment of God in your life, and it is to turn you
back to him.
The purpose of chastisement, the purpose of affliction, the purpose of God bringing his
punishment upon you is that he might get your attention and draw you back unto himself.
Are you there in 1 Corinthians five?
I want you to notice in verse 15, excuse me, in verse five here, there's a young man in
the church at Corinth who has involved himself into some sins that could not be ignored,
that have to be dealt with.
And of course, we're not going to study this all out and they practice church discipline
upon this young man.
And the apostle Paul teaches the concept of church discipline here.
But I want you to notice what he says in verse number five.
And this might shock some of you if you've not read the Bible or if you don't know the
Bible or if all you know about the Bible is what you've heard from mainstream Christianity.
But I want you to notice what Paul says about this young man who's a saved young man in
this church, 1 Corinthians five, verse five.
He says this, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
Now when he talks about the spirit being saved here, he's not talking about salvation like
you and I would consider salvation like going to heaven.
He's talking about the fact that he's actually praying.
Paul is talking about the fact that he has taken this young man and he has prayed that
God would deliver him to Satan, that Satan would have his way with this young man.
You say, why?
Because Satan, the Bible says, the thief has come to steal and to kill and to destroy.
And here Paul says, I'm actually praying that God will allow Satan to destroy this young
man's life.
Why?
Because the flesh might be destroyed, but that spiritually he would return back to God.
He said to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
And this is not the only place that the apostle Paul says this.
You don't have to turn there, but in 1 Timothy he talks about Hymenaeus.
He says, of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander?
He says, whom I have delivered unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
The apostle Paul actually would pray for individuals.
He would look at individuals and he'd say, God, will you destroy the life of this person
that they might get right with you?
That they might turn back to you or that they might, if they were reprobates, that they
might learn not to blaspheme?
I want you to notice that there is a work that God does in the life of a believer.
The believer who's not right with him, who's living in sin, where he works on their behalf
to destroy their lives.
He works on their behalf to bring affliction.
You say, why would God do that?
Well, he said that, we saw it there in Hosea.
In fact, keep your place there in 1 Corinthians, go with me to the book of Psalms if you would.
If you open up your Bible just right in the center, you'll more than likely fall in the
book of Psalms.
And I'll read for you from Hosea 515, which we already read.
He said this, till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face.
In their affliction, they will seek me early.
God says, I'm going to afflict you, why?
For the purpose of motivating you to get right with God.
Psalm 119, look at verse 67, notice what the Psalm has said.
Psalm 119 and verse 67, he says this, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have
I kept my word.
Look, please understand this.
If you are saved, when you live your life in sin, contrary to the will of God, the Bible
says that God will bring affliction.
He will bring destruction upon your life.
You say, why?
Because God hates you?
No, because he loves you.
And he wants to turn you back to, in fact, the apostle Paul would pray.
And I don't know if I should even say this, maybe I would imagine that some of you are
not even mature enough maybe to understand this or to hear this, but I'm just going to
say it anyway.
You know, I've taken a lesson from the apostle Paul.
I actually, I have a prayer list, a weekly prayer list where I pray for it.
My wife has a prayer list where we try to pray through it every week.
But then I also have a daily prayer list of things that I want to pray for every day.
And of course, my family is on that list.
But then there's other things that are more urgent, things that I feel like God needs
to hear every day or things that I want to talk about to God every day.
You know, on that prayer list, at the end of that list, I have a list of names of people
who I'm praying.
I'm praying, Lord, I'm asking that you would deliver this life unto Satan for the destruction
of the flesh that the Spirit may be saved.
Lord, I'm asking, Lord, if you would allow me to, I'm delivering this individual, I'm
delivering these people unto Satan that they may learn not to bless me.
You say, I don't think you should pray that, Pastor, I don't think you should like, that's
something that we should be talking about.
Hey, that's the Bible.
Amen.
That's what the Bible says.
And you say, well, that's cruel and that's mean.
Listen to me.
The first step in revival is repentance.
And oftentimes, God has to get our attention to turn us back to him.
The psalmist said, before I was afflicted, I went astray.
And that's the story that many of you have, that's the story that many of us have.
You say, ah, ah, I've always not always just walked with God.
God had to get my attention.
He said, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but after I was afflicted, he says, now have
I kept thy word.
Go to Psalm 85.
Psalm 85, you're there in Psalm 119, if you just flip back, Psalm 85.
I don't know, Pastor.
I mean, you seem a little too serious about this.
You're actually praying that Satan would destroy certain individuals.
I mean, you know, it's Sunday morning, isn't, you're just supposed to talk about the love
of God and you're supposed to be happy, go lucky.
You don't need to wake up, you need to realize that this is a serious thing we're dealing
with.
This is not a game.
You are dealing with God, almighty God.
He is interested in you.
He's interested in your life.
He created you.
He gave his son for you and he expects you to know him and to make him known.
And you say, well, I'm going to go astray.
You go ahead, buddy, but realize that God's going to bring his affliction to turn us back
to God.
This is the time where we began this series many, many weeks ago.
If you remember, the Psalmist said this, he said this, turn us, O God of our salvation.
Don't miss it.
And cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Will thou be angry with us forever?
Will thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
Will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?
You go ahead and fool around with sin and you don't take this serious and you just go
ahead and laugh and cut up while I'm preaching and act like it's no big deal.
But you remember this, when God gets a hold of you, when God decides to come down hard
on you, when the affliction of God comes upon your life, remember that all God wants from
you is, O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God.
For thou is fallen by thine iniquity.
Take with you words and turn to the Lord.
Keep your place there in Psalm.
We're going to come back to it.
Go back to Hosea chapter 14.
You say, what are the steps to revival?
The first step is repentance.
And by the way, let me just say this.
This is why most people will never experience revival because the first step is too hard.
When God brings down his judgment upon you, when God brings down his affliction upon you,
when God brings down his punishment upon you, you say, God, what do you want from me?
He wants you to turn.
He wants you to re-turn.
Revival must begin.
Revival must begin with repentance.
Let me give you the second step.
Repentance is just the first step.
The second step is this.
First, we begin with repentance.
Here's point number two.
Repentance should lead to getting right with God.
You say, should lead?
I say it that way for a reason, because oftentimes people experience repentance, but there's
no actual getting right with God.
You know how repentance should actually lead to you getting right with the Lord?
Hosea 14, look at verse two, notice what he says.
Take you words and turn to the Lord.
Notice these words, say unto him.
This is the children of Israel that Hosea is pleading with to return to the Lord.
He's telling them, I want you to say this to God, take away all iniquity.
Revival begins in your heart and in your life when you decide, you know what, I've had enough.
I've had enough of the punishment of God.
I've had enough of the affliction of God.
God's trying to get my attention.
It's clear.
I understand that.
Look, please get this.
When bad things happen in your life, that doesn't necessarily mean that God's upset
with you or that God is punishing you.
After the Red Hawk Preaching Conference, we're going to begin a new book of the Bible, a
new study on Wednesday night.
We're going to study the book of Job, and in the book of Job, we're going to learn that
when bad things happen in your life, it doesn't always mean that God is upset with you.
But listen to me, when bad things happen in your life, you better make sure to stop and
ask yourself, search me, O God, and know my heart.
God, is there something you're trying to get a hold of in my life?
Is there something you're trying to teach me?
Is there something that you're trying to get my attention?
Because it may be that God wants you to repent.
First we begin with repentance, and repentance should lead to getting right.
There is no repentance if there is not a prayer that says this, take away all iniquity.
Take away all iniquity.
Go back to the book of Psalms if you would, Psalm 51.
Psalm 51.
If you're familiar with the book of Psalms, you know Psalm 51 is that famous psalm where
David, who committed adultery, who killed Uriah the Hittite to cover up his sin, has
now had Nathan the prophet put his finger in his face and said, thou art the man.
And David is getting right with the Lord here, and he writes Psalm 51 as a confession of
his sin.
And I want you to notice the characteristics of confession because sometimes people, God
comes down hard on them and says, okay, I want to repent.
But the problem is we never really do it correctly because, see, repentance requires
you getting right with God, and you getting right with God requires confession.
What I've learned over the last 10 years of ministry is this, that confession does not
come naturally to any of us.
In fact, oftentimes confession has to be coached and taught because we just, by nature, refuse
almost subconsciously to confess properly, to ask forgiveness properly.
You say, what is a proper confession?
There are really two characteristics to confession, and it's this.
When we confess our sins, either to God or to man, we should never minimize it or make
excuses for it.
You ever have somebody apologize to you, and all they're really doing is minimizing and
make excuses for what they did?
I'm sorry, but the thing is that if they wouldn't have, and it's not as bad as so and so, and
That's not an apology.
That's not a confession.
Here God documents a confession of a man who's honestly getting himself right with God, who's
honestly returning back to the Lord.
Notice Psalm 51 and verse 1.
Notice what David says.
He says, have mercy, O God, according to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude
of thy tender mercies, blot out my mistakes.
Is that what he says?
Blot out my sickness.
Is that what he says?
David will confess their addiction.
Well, I'm not addicted to alcohol.
I'm just sick.
Why don't you just call it what it is, sin?
Why don't you just call it what it is, a transgression?
Here, David says, blot out my transgression.
Notice, there's no minimizing here.
Wash me thoroughly from my, notice, iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge
my transgression.
He doesn't say, I messed up, God.
He doesn't say, I made a mistake, God.
He doesn't say, well, you know, God, I couldn't really help myself, and she wouldn't been
up there bathing herself.
It's not really my fault.
No, there's no minimizing of sin here.
He says, I acknowledge my transgression.
My sin is ever before me.
Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and thus there's evil in Thy side, that Thou mightest
be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judge's notice.
A proper confession has no minimizing of our sin, but I want you to notice, a proper confession
has no making excuses for our sin.
If you notice these words at the end of verse one, he says, my transgression.
In verse two, he says, mine iniquity.
He says, cleanse me from my sin.
In verse three, he says, I acknowledge my transgression.
He says, my sin.
In verse four, he says, for I have sinned.
See, true repentance.
See, some of you are like, I forget revival, I'm not, if this is what revival takes, I'm
not interested.
Yeah, you'll never experience revival because this is what a revival takes.
Revival takes you repenting and turning back to God.
Turning back to God and repenting means a legitimate confession of your sin to God where
you say, God, I'm not going to minimize my sin.
I'm not going to make excuses for my sin.
I have sinned against you, God.
We should not make excuses for our sin.
Please understand this, and you know this, God is a loving God.
First John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But revival requires repentance, and repentance requires getting right with God, coming to
God and confessing your sin, and at times when we sin against others, coming to others
and confessing our sins, and that means we don't make excuses.
That means we don't minimize it.
That means we don't sit there and downplay and say, well, it's not as bad as, it's not
that bad, and really it was because of this.
No, no, no.
You just say, I have sinned.
It was me.
I want to get right with God.
Here's step number three.
Go back to Hosea chapter 14 if you would.
Step one, first we begin with repentance.
Step two, repentance leads to getting right.
Step three, getting right leads to reestablish relationship.
The truth is this, you cannot have a proper relationship with God while living in sin.
Hosea 14 and verse two, take with you words and turn to the Lord saying to Him, take away
all iniquity, and here's what He says, receive us graciously.
He says, receive us.
Here the children of Israel as they are taking the advice of Hosea and attempting to get
right with God, they said, God, take away all iniquity, make us righteous, but then
you reestablish your relationship.
Would you receive us?
Will you receive us graciously?
Go to the book of 1 John if you would in the New Testament.
Towards the end of the New Testament, you have the book of Revelation.
If you head backwards, you have Jude 3, 2, and 1 John, 1 John chapter one.
All these steps are needed.
You need to repent.
You need to acknowledge your sin, and look, you say, well, how do I know?
Look, while I'm preaching right now, if the Holy Spirit's bringing things to your mind,
then God wants you to deal with those things.
If it's specific sin, maybe it's you've not been faithful to God or haven't been faithful
to your relation with God or whatever it might be, it might be something you're specifically
doing that God is bringing to your mind, hey, God wants you to deal with that.
The biggest mistake that we make, people have a tendency to make excuses and minimize their
sin.
The biggest mistake that we make is that sometimes we will make excuses and minimize the sins
of others.
Oh, it's no big deal, don't ever minimize somebody else's sin.
If God's dealing with them, if you're not mature enough to help God, then you've got
to get out of God's way and let God do what he's going to do.
That's why sometimes we tell parents, hey, don't bail, let them fail.
God's dealing with your kid and God needs to put them through the wringer.
You don't step in that thing.
You move out of the way of God because God might end up swatting you in the process.
You don't bail.
You let them fail.
You let God deal with them.
You let the prodigal say, hey, the father was there the entire time, notice he never
came after the son.
He waited until he came to the end of himself.
Repentance leads to getting right.
Getting right leads to reestablish relationship.
First John one, are you there?
Look at verse six.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, please don't miss this.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, you know it's easy to say you have fellowship
with God?
You know it's easy to make it look on Facebook like you're having fellowship with God.
You know it's easy on a Sunday morning to dress up real nice, show up to church like
this one and make it look like you're having fellowship with God.
But you know what God says?
If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the
truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another
and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleansed us from all sin.
You know the Bible says that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were
evil.
You don't sit there and tell me you have fellowship with God while you're walking in darkness.
What does that mean?
While you're walking in a way, you know, well, my parents don't know about what I'm up to
or my wife doesn't know what I'm up to or my husband doesn't know what I'm up to or
my employer doesn't know what I'm up to.
Listen to me.
If you're walking in darkness, you're not living in fellowship with God.
If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the
truth.
Getting right with God, the Bible says that our sins have separated us from God.
Getting right with God actually allows for a reestablishment of relationship with God.
But you can't get there.
You can't get there.
So you've repented and repentance should lead to getting right with God and getting right
with God should lead to confessing, to not making excuses, not minimizing.
From time to time, my wife and I have to deal in situations, to step in into situations.
Sometimes we have to talk to people about things.
And it's always, whenever I talk to someone and you're kind of calling them out on something
and say, hey, this isn't right, you can't do this, or there's not something that you
should be doing, or look, this cannot be allowed to go on or whatever.
And they immediately just start making excuses, start minimizing, well, it's not this, it's
not that.
You just, this person is not ready.
They are not ready to get right with God because you cannot get right with God until you say
it is me, oh God, standing in the need of prayer.
But repentance leads to getting right.
Getting right leads to reestablished relationship.
And reestablished relationship leads to rejoicing.
Look at Hosea 14, look at verse two again.
Take with you words and turn to the Lord.
Say unto him, take away all iniquity and receive us graciously.
Then he says this, so will we render the calves of our lips.
You say, what is that referring to?
Here's what it's referring to, those calves are a sacrifice.
He says, we're going to render a sacrifice of our lips.
We're going to rejoice, we're going to offer sacrifices to God with our lips.
Psalm 85, if you would go back there, Psalm 85, remember what the Psalm has said?
Psalm 85 and verse four, turn us, oh God, of our salvation and cause thine anger toward
us to cease.
Wilt thou be angry with us forever?
Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
Notice verse six, wilt thou not revive us again?
Notice these words, that thy people may rejoice in thee.
Let me tell you something.
Let me explain something to you.
You know why you're so miserable in the Christian life?
Sometimes you watch, you know how Christian life was meant to be joyful?
The joy of the Lord is our strength, the Bible says.
Sometimes you watch Christians are just miserable.
You watch young people and they're just like, good morning.
I mean, just miserable.
Let me tell you something, that's sin in your heart.
You cannot rejoice in the Lord when you're not right with God.
In fact, getting right with God leads to rejoicing, which is why the Psalmist says, hey, wilt
thou not revive us again?
Why do you want to be revived again?
That thy people may rejoice in thee because you cannot rejoice in the Lord.
Look, the Bible says the wicked flee when no man pursueth.
You ever thought about that proverb?
The wicked flee when no man pursueeth.
What does that mean?
Let's talk about a guilty conscience.
You did something wrong, every little thing you're like, what are you talking about?
The wicked flee when no man pursueeth.
Nobody's even chasing you, nobody's even asking you questions, nobody's even doing anything.
And you're all suspicious.
You know what that is?
It's a guilty conscience.
The wicked flee when no man pursueeth, don't miss this, but the righteous are bold as line.
You cannot, you cannot, you cannot rejoice in the Lord without getting right with the
Lord.
And you cannot get right with the Lord without confessing and not making excuses and not
minimizing.
And you can't do that until you've repented.
Look, this is all a step by step.
Here, Hosea is saying, you want to have revival?
Well, you need to repent.
You need to get right.
That'll lead to relationship, and relationship will lead to rejoicing.
Please understand this, there is nothing better than a clear conscience with God and man.
There is nothing better than laying your head down on your pillow at night and saying, I
am right with the Lord.
You can rejoice in God.
You know what?
We're going to study it over the next however many weeks.
You know what God, Job, the most difficult part of his life, is saying, I'm not perfect
in the sense of without sin, but I know I'm right with God.
I'll confess my sin.
I'll make things right.
I'll do what I need to do.
See, it is getting right that leads to relationship, and it is relationship that leads to rejoicing,
and it is rejoicing that leads to restoration.
Notice Hosea 14 and verse 3, Hosea 14.
Keep your place there in Psalms.
Keep your place in 2 Corinthians.
We're going to come back to them.
Hosea 14 and verse 3, the Bible says this, Astra shall not save us.
We will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the work of our hands.
Ye are our gods, for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
He's talking about the fact that the children of Israel, some of their sins were the fact
that they were worshiping other gods and worshiping idols.
Verse 4, I will heal their backsliding.
I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him.
Doesn't that sound good?
I don't know about you, but that's what I want in my life.
I want God to look down at me, to look down at my family, to look down at Verity Baptist
Church and say, I will heal their backsliding.
I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him.
Mine anger is turned away from them.
See, we like Hosea 14, verse 4.
We like the restoration, but keep in mind that to get to the restoration, there must
be repentance.
There must be getting right.
There must be a reestablishing of relationship.
There must be a rejoicing that leads you to restoration.
I will hear their backsliding.
Go back to 2 Corinthians, if you would, if you kept your place there in 1 Corinthians,
go to 2 Corinthians.
Remember, in 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote about a young man that needed to be
disciplined, church disciplined.
He talked about the fact that he would deliver his soul unto Satan for the destruction of
the flesh, that the spirit may be saved.
And look, some of you need to, the prayer you need to start having for your husband
is, Lord, do what you got to do to get him right.
Some of you, the prayer you need to start having for your wife is, Lord, do what you
got to do to get her right.
I mean, the prayer you need to start having for your kids that have maybe gone wayward
or your grandchildren that have gone wayward is, Lord, I love them, but I'm going to deliver
them unto Satan.
They would get right with you, Lord, do what you got to do.
Some of you, you might stop asking me to pray for your family to get saved, but if you hear
me, if you hear me pray on a Wednesday night, people say, Lord, save so and so.
You don't think God wants to save everybody?
He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
You hear me pray for somebody to get saved, you know what you hear me say?
Lord, do what you got to do in their life.
Give circumstances around in their life.
Do whatever you got to do.
Here's how the Holy, tonight we're going to talk about the Holy Spirit in prayer, how
the Holy Spirit interprets our prayer.
Here's how God interprets that.
The Holy Spirit, a car accident, bankruptcy, lose their job, lose their health.
Do what you got to do to get them right with you, to get them to the place where they'll
hear the gospel, where they'll get saved.
That seems a little too serious, then Christianity is just a little too serious for you.
Rejoicing leads to restoration, and God wants to restore.
Here in 1 Corinthians, we have this young man to deliver his soul.
But notice, in 2 Corinthians, the young man has gone right with God.
2 Corinthians chapter two, look at verse six.
Notice what the apostle Paul says.
2 Corinthians chapter two and verse six, sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was
inflicted of many.
Don't try to shield them from the affliction that God brings in their life.
So that contra-wise, ye ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should
be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
See, the purpose of restoration, you know that the purpose of church discipline is restoration,
when possible.
Obviously, we're talking about a reprobate or something like that, then there is no restoration.
But the purpose of the affliction that God brings upon the life of an individual is that
they might get right with him.
Galatians chapter six, if you're there in 2 Corinthians, just flip over to the book
of Galatians.
Galatians chapter six and verse one, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which
are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou
also be tempted.
But you know what?
Ye that are spiritual need to be spiritual enough to realize that repentance requires
getting right.
And that getting right requires confessing, not making excuses, not minimizing, and forsaking.
That repentance brings reestablished relationship, and reestablished relationship brings rejoicing.
And rejoicing can lead to restoration, which is what God wants in your life.
Keep your place right there in Galatians.
We're gonna come right back to it.
Go back to Hosea.
Here's step number six.
Restoration leads to spiritual grounding and spiritual roots.
Notice Hosea chapter 14 and verse five, I will be as the dew unto Israel.
He shall grow as the lily, notice, and cast forth his root.
If you notice the passage here in Hosea, he begins by saying, you gotta turn back to Israel.
You gotta, Israel, you gotta turn back to God.
But towards the end here, he's talking about, they're putting out their roots to God.
And look, here's what I'm telling you, this is what God wants in your life.
This is what God wants in your life.
This is what God wants in my life.
He wants us to get right with him.
He wants us to repent and get right with him.
He wants us to rejoice in him.
He wants us to be restored in him.
He wants to reestablish relationship with him.
Then he wants us to get some roots down and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Go to Colossians 2, if you would, if you've got your place in the right Galatians, you
got Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.
Colossians chapter 2.
Colossians chapter 2, verse 6.
See, once you get to step 6, you start experiencing revival.
Knowing God, what does that mean?
Colossians 2, look at verse 6.
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord as so walk ye in him, notice these
words, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as ye have been taught abounding
therein with thanksgiving.
He said rooted and built up in him.
You know what we want?
Look, please understand this.
What do we want here at Verity Baptist Church?
What are we trying to accomplish?
Look, you say, every time I go to church, the pastor has an agenda.
Let me just tell you what my agenda is.
My agenda is that you will be rooted in Christ, that you will become established, that you
will be established in the faith, that you will become grounded in the word of God, that
you'll be rooted as a Christian.
Like the song says, I will not be, I will not be moved.
As a tree planted by the waters, I shall not be moved.
Psalm 1 talks about the tree that's rooted in the waters.
A tree that is rooted as roots down deep is not going to get moved, it's not going to
get shaken, it's not going to get blown down.
That's what God wants for you, but you can't get there.
Look, please understand, you can't get to roots until there's restoration.
You can't get to restoration until there's rejoicing.
You can't get to rejoicing until there's relationship.
You can't get to relationship until there's getting right with God.
You can't get to getting right with God.
There's repentance.
All of these things are needed.
You cannot be, you never will be the Christian that's rooted while you skip these steps.
Then notice what he says.
In fact, look at Colossians 2 again.
Verse 7, rooted, and then he says this, and built up.
Rooted and built up.
It's funny because in the Bible you find this theme where he says, you get your roots down,
and this is in nature you find this theme.
You get your roots down into the ground, then you build up.
You're rooted down, then you build up.
Hosea 14, look at verse 6, notice what he says.
In verse 5 he says, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
In verse 6 he says, his branches shall spread.
What is this referring to?
Well, if you don't mind writing your Bible, next to verse 5 I'd write these words, to
know God.
Cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
What does that mean?
To know God.
To know God deep.
To know God in a foundational way, in an established way.
Jesus talked in Matthew chapter 7 about the wise man that built his house upon the rock.
He's talking about having a foundation that's rooted in God.
And then in verse 7 he says, his branches shall spread.
You don't mind writing your Bible, I'd write next to that verse, to make God known.
This is revival.
To know God, and to make God known.
To know God, and to make God known, rooted and built up in him.
Go if you would, the book of Isaiah if you would, Isaiah 37, Isaiah 37.
And if you head backwards, you're there in the book of Hosea, if you just head backwards
you're going to have Daniel, then you have these big books, Ezekiel, Lamentations, Jeremiah,
Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 37.
Here's what I believe.
I believe that if we can have a church that is rooted, we'll have a church that's growing.
If we can have a church filled with people that know God, we will have a church filled
with people that are making God known.
You say, pastor, what's your church growth plan for Verity Baptist Church?
Here's my church growth plan, to get you as thoroughly right with God as possible.
To get me as thoroughly right with God as possible.
Look, when it comes to church growth, I don't know a lot about church growth.
I know we could bring in a rock concert and have a thousand people.
That doesn't take a lot of spirituality.
Rock bands that have nothing to do with Jesus have thousands of people show up to hear them.
There's lots of things you can do to get a crowd.
I'm not trying to get a crowd.
I'm trying to get an army of believers that are right with God that are going to engage
in spiritual warfare.
We're trying to get people that are right with God, that know God, and want to make
God known.
Isaiah 37 and verse 31, the Bible says this, and the remnant that has escaped of the house
of Judah, notice these words, shall again take root downward.
What is that?
Rejoicing, and bear fruit upward, making God known.
Rejoicing leads to restoration.
Restoration leads to spiritual grounding, to spiritual roots.
Roots lead to reaching others with the gospel.
And all of this, all of this, all these things that I've been explaining over the last 40
minutes to you, we begin with repentance, which leads to getting right with God.
You cannot get right with God until you are able to come to the place where you will not
minimize and you will not make excuses for your sin.
Like David, you'll say, my sin is ever before thee.
I acknowledge my transgression.
It wasn't a mess up.
It wasn't a mistake.
It's not a sickness.
It's not my dad's fault.
It's not my mom's fault.
It's not my wife's fault.
It's not my husband's fault.
It is me, God.
That will lead to you getting right with God.
Getting right with God will lead to an established relationship with God.
An established relationship with God will take away the guilt, will allow you to walk
in light, will lead to rejoicing.
Rejoicing will lead to restoration.
Restoration will lead to roots.
Roots will lead to reaching.
And you say, pastor, if we can get all that done in the life of one individual, what would
you call that?
You could call it one word, revival, Isaiah 14 and verse 7, they that dwell under his
shadow.
Notice how the Bible is so consistent.
They that dwell under his shadow shall return.
They shall, notice these words, revive as the corn and grow as the vine, the scent thereof
shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
Please understand this.
I'm not interested in having a church that's just kind of like, we're just kind of, you
know, just hunkering down, you know, cause it's the end times and we're just going to
just, you know, try to make it through.
Maybe that's what you're interested.
I'm just telling you right now, that's not what I'm interested.
Pastor Meadows, we just came out of this COVID-19 thing and we're still kind of in the mix of
it and you know, churches are shut down and they're not growing, they're not reaching.
You know, what do you think?
I don't know about you, but my plan is to go forward.
My plan is to advance.
My plan, look, the war's not over.
The devil's still out there.
The hell had, I don't know, maybe Gavin Newsom shut down hell.
I don't think he did though.
He may have shut down restaurants, but he shut down hell.
People still dying and going to hell.
Marriages still need help.
Children still need to be raised for God.
There's still work to be done.
But I'm not going to hold down the fort, we're advancing.
The gates of hell shall not prevail against us.
How do we do that?
We do that with you knowing God and making God known.
But that's not going to happen.
Look, that's not going to happen while you hide things and walk in darkness.
That's not going to happen while you make excuses and minimize and take no responsibility.
That's not going to happen while you live with guilt and shame over sin.
That you've not dealt with.
Not going to happen while you avoid a relationship with God who created you because you refuse
to take the steps to get right with him.
It's not going to happen, but we get right with God.
Habakkuk chapter three, if you would, we'll go there, we'll finish up.
If you're in the book of Hosea, you have Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk.
Habakkuk chapter number three, I'd like you to look at verse number one.
Habakkuk chapter three and verse one, notice what the prophet prayed, here's a prayer.
Habakkuk chapter three and verse one, we'll finish right here.
The Bible says this, a prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet unto Shigianov.
Verse two, oh Lord, here's this prayer.
I always enjoy reading the prayers of the men of God in the Bible.
Here's this prayer, he says, oh Lord, I have heard thy speech, notice, and was afraid.
Why?
Because sometimes when God speaks, it's scary.
When God afflicts.
I've heard thy speech and was afraid, oh Lord.
Here's this prayer, revive thy word in the midst of the years.
In the midst of the years, make known in wrath.
Remember mercy.
Look, I get it, we live in a wicked nation and a wicked state and the judgment of God
may come and may be coming upon this nation as we speak.
My prayer and your prayer should be the prayer of the prophet who says, in the midst of the
years, in the midst of the years of your judgment, in the midst of the years of your wrath, God,
make known in wrath.
Remember mercy.
So here's what I'm inviting you to.
I'm inviting you to get right with God as thoroughly as possible.
Whatever God's dealing with you, whether maybe it's a specific sin that God says, this is
your problem, this is what you need to deal with.
Maybe it's not being consistent to church.
Maybe it's you're not praying, you're not soul.
Maybe the Holy Spirit brings something to your mind saying, here's something God wants
me to deal with.
I'm inviting you to get right with God, to know God so that we may make God known.
Here in a minute, Brother Matt's going to come up.
He's going to lead a final song.
I want you to take your hymn books and go to page number 271.
He's going to lead it.
I just want you to see the words here.
271.
We're going to sing this song.
I think we need to do some work with God in our hearts.
271 says this, I've wandered far away from God.
Now I'm coming home.
The path of sin too long I've trod, Lord, I'm coming home.
I've wasted many precious years, now I'm coming home.
I now repent with bitter tears, Lord, I'm coming home.
I'm tired of sin and straying, Lord, now I'm coming home.
I'll trust thy love, believe thy word, Lord, I'm coming home.
My soul is sick, my heart is sore, now I'm coming home.
My strength renew, my hope restored, Lord, I'm coming home.
I pray that this would not just be a song we sing this morning, but it would be a prayer
of our hearts.
Bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, you know how badly I want this church to experience revival.
But Lord, we cannot experience revival while there's sin in the camp, we cannot experience
revival while there's conflict and division.
We cannot experience revival while there's sin and anger and bitterness, we just can't
experience revival while we're walking in the flesh.
It can't happen.
Lord, I pray you'd deal with us.
Lord, I pray you'd move amongst us.
I pray you'd help us to be rooted and grounded and built up in you.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray.
Amen.
Wherever the mat come up and lead in a final...